Visakhapatnam: Large-scale violence broke out in Andhra Pradesh's Tuni town on Sunday as protesters demanding reservation for Kapu caste set afire a train, two police stations and many vehicles, police said.

Kapu leader M Padmanabham on Sunday night announced that he was withdrawing the protest.

The mobs went on a rampage in the town — about 100 km from Visakhapatnam — in East Godavari district and sat on rail tracks and the national highway, bringing to a halt the movement of trains and vehicles between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

Agitators belonging to the Kapu caste set fire to Ratnachal Express when it halted at Tuni railway station in East Godavari district on Sunday afternoon. PTI

The protesters set afire rural and urban police stations and 25 vehicles. Fifteen police personnel, including two officers, and four railway employees were injured in the attacks by protesters.

All trains between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and vehicular traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata national highway came to a halt as thousands of protesters squatted on the tracks and the highway.

Padmanabham on Sunday night announced that he was withdrawing the protest, but gave an ultimatum to the state government to issue orders by Monday evening to include Kapus in the list of backward classes. He threatened to launch a 'fast-unto-death'.

The violence broke out around 3 pm during a massive public meeting organised by the Kapu State Committee at Tuni.

Kapu leaders declared that they will not leave the rail tracks and highways till the government issues an order to meet their demand.